Gap, France - 2,000ft

[UKKid35 1]

I've been advised by Kevin at Gap that I may have to jump using a larger canopy until they have seen my landings. Will I notice the difference at 2,000ft compared with sea level?

[vt1977 0]

I haven't been to Gap, but I certainly notice the difference in landings between sea level and Eloy which is at approx 1,500ft.

Vicki

[ph8068 0]

Yeah, you'll notice the difference, especially if you go in the summer when its hot, making the air even less dense. You'll come in to land faster, but equally you get more flare. A good landing is still easily possible, it just makes it slightly more difficult as everything happens a bit more quickly.

If you can, best make your first couple of jumps out there with at least a moderate headwind, and don't progress to zero-winds until your feeling confident.

If its permanently zero wind and Kevin does suggest you jump a larger canopy for the first couple of jumps, it is guaranteed he only has your own safety at mind, he's a top instructor and doesn't ask you to do these things just to make lift difficult.

Have fun in Gap, you'll love the DZ. And make sure you go to Pizza le Chateau in Tallard village - essential eating!

[rasmack 0]

They have enough good gear for you to rent. Don't worry. They are just playing it safe. As for Kevin, he is a terrific instructor. He talks a lot, but pay attention to what he is saying. You will learn a lot. I really appreciated the time he took to talk to me, and give me some input.

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[JPDECHENE 0]

The problem is that they have in France since 2004 some very strict regulation regarding wing loading for the people with less than a certain amount of jumps :
From 31 to 100 jumps : w.l. = 0.88 max.
from 101 to 250 jumps : max. 0.96
from 251 to 400 : max. 1.05
from 401 to 600: max. 1.16
with a few exceptions .

For exit weight, they consider the weight naked + 22 lbs.

JP

[phoenixlpr 0]

Wow!

French canopy nazis!

In Finland <1.35 under 250 jumps.

[rasmack 0]

When I was there, Kevin said that they would normally allow you to jump your own equipment regardless of these restrictions, just like a foreign jumper can jump non-TSO'd gear at a US DZ. This is of course not a guarantee

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[Tonto 1]

In South Africa, under 100 jumps, under 1.0.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[pilotdave 0]

Quote

For exit weight, they consider the weight naked + 22 lbs.

Ummm, doesn't that seem a little silly? Why don't they consider exit weight to be... uhhh.. actual exit weight? Clothes + jumpsuit + rig + helmet, goggles, altimeter, cameras, weights, etc can be a crapload more than 22 lbs.

Dave

[phoenixlpr 0]

He might have been talking about naked jump ;).

[achowe 0]

i can see the reasoning, but surely in that case most visiting jumpers wont be able to jump their own canopies?

-------------------------------------------------
Woooaaaaaa!!! Woooaaaa!!! I'm gettin' off it!

[JPDECHENE 0]

It really depends on the guy in charge. I also suppose that if you are on the high side of the range of the jump numbers, he will most probably be more "easy".
But if the profile of UKKid is true (45 jumpss in 5 years), I would be surprised if the Drop Zone DT (Directeur Technique) would let him jump with his gear.

JP

[adamsr 0]

yeah you'll notice the difference with the altitude.

I went to the czech replublic boogie, where the dz is about 2,000 feet above sea level, added to that it was damn hot and you can really notice the extra speed under canopy.

pretty much everyone on the first day was messing up landings, not badly but timing the flare slightly wrong as it's easy to be caught out by the extra speed.

It's almost like downsizing 20 or 30 square feet. But it's something you should be aware of and take extra care on your first few jumps.

[damien 0]

It's getting pretty strict in France after too many landing accidents in the past years... But if you are have your own gear and can prove you have been using it for a while (log book), you won't have any problem using it -- unless your w.l. is 1.5 with 50 jumps.

Damien